Vacuum feed



May5, 1925. 1,535,324 E. BOSSI 4VACUUM FEED Filed sept. 15. 1921 fil Patented May 5, 1925.

insana PATENT' orifice.

nNna Boss; on New Yoan, N. if., Assiettes, BY MnsNn AssizeNNrnNrs, To srnwanr- WARNER siennnonrnrna eenroaaron A; eoanroiaarron or VIRGINIA.

VACUUM FEE.

Application led September 15, 1921. Serial No. 500,808.

To all fio/mm it may conce/rnv:

Be it known that l, ENEA Bossi, a sul ject of the ling of italy, residing in New York, in the county of New York, State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Vacuum Feed, of which the following' is al specification.

The present invention relates broadly to fuel feeding; systems and more specially to a vacuum feed system.

The principal object of the present invention is to` provide a vacuum tank for fuel feed systems of the constantly open type and which is adapted toI operate efficiently on both low and high suction..

Another and important object of the present invention is a vacuum tank of the character specified: wherein the construction admits of low cost of' manufacture.

A still further and important object of the present invention is a vacuum tank of the open system type provided with a suction controlled valve of large area adapted to he securely held in place at low suction and` to he easily opened' atliigh suction.-

ri still furtliei olijfect ot'the present inivenf tion is a vacuuiin tank of the character specilied and wl-ierein: a plurality ofl relief pas* sageways for tllie secondary tank extend upwardly between; the primary and the secondary tar to vent openings therefor.

il still further and important object of. the iiiresent invention is a valve for controlling thesuction conduit,` which valve is constructcd to admit air to the suction conduit before full opening of the valve occurs` A. still further object of the present in` vention is to provide a primary tank with guiding members in the side walls thereof for the float and so arranged as to provide passageways whereby the incoming supply ot fuel may descend loenaath the floatrwithout ilnpingiug upon the upper portion thereof.

lriine specifically, an object of the yu'esent invent-ion a vacuum tank construction of the constantly'opeu type and \\'liicli.is1provided with a suction `controll valve efiicient for hoth high yand low suction and with a large outlet leading to the storage tank which is` provided with a'plurality of vent passageways leading upwardly to open vents considerably above the bottom of theV vacuum tank for admission of air to the storage tank,

- Other and further objects of the present invention will i-n part he obvious and will in parthe pointed out inY the specification following by reference tothe drawings forming a part of this application wherein like parts are represented loy like characters throughd out the several figures thereof.` 1

Realizing that thepresent invention may loe embodied in construction other than those herein `specificallyshown anddescribed it is desiredthat the disclosure herewith shall be considered` as illustrative and not in the limiting, sense-` Figure l is a. vertical elevationshowing ther principal members of thertank in section;

Figure 2 is a section on line 2N2 of Figure l; i l

F igure` 3 is a detail view illustrating the suction controlled valve closed.

Figure l is a detail view illustrating the suction controlled valve opened slightly to break the partial vacuum in theV suction conduit and to permit the valvev to loe opened as indicated at 5:

Figure 5 indicates the suction valve in a full open position.

n the vacuum tank art there are three general types or systems defined more specially hy the relation` of the condition of the tanks to atmosphere. rlhe types comprise; the closed system; the intermittently open system; andi the constantly open system.` InV the constantly open system one of the iinportant problems is the control of the suction passageway, in view of the fact that the suction must be adequate in the primary or vacuum tank tol provide a partial vacuum sufficient to raise thel liquid fuel, even though the primary tank is constantly open tot atmosphere, andat the same time permit the loweringoperation of the float to open Vthe valve after the valve has been closed to permit gasoline to feed into the secoildary or storage tank. In various types of simple valves heretofore `designed the float has .necessarily been quitelieavy` and hollow metal` lic hodieshave ordinarily heen employed as floats for this purpose. The manufacture of such floatsand the proper weighting thereof is expensive and in view of the enormous l 'quanti-ties of vacuum feed tanks manufacturedf and sold the fraction of cent becomes of great importance. Furthermore, heavy fioats do not respond quickly to flotation and therefore sometimes permit the primary tank to fill to a higher level than is desired. If the primary tank becomes overiilled rfaw gasoline is drawn into, the manifold and there is liability of the engine being choked. Furthermore, in vacuum systems heretofore where cylindrical concentric tanks were telescoped it has been customary to provide an annular space between the primary tank and the secondary tank and the gasoline in the secondary or storage tank was liable to splash or rise into this annular space by flowing upwardly and between the cylindrical walls of the annular space by the operation of the vehicle on which the tank was mounted. This not only wasted gasoline, but increased the liability of lire.

The present invention comprises an exceedingly economical construction to manufacture and at the same time overcomes the ditlieulties of the known art by providing` a suction control valve of relatively large area adapted to be securely held in position at low suction and arranged in such manner as to be partially opened to relieve the seating pressure on the valve before the valve is completely opened. This permits the use of a much lighter float than has been heretofore required. One construction for accomplishing` this purpose comprises a relatively large disk valve pivoted on a lever arm so as to obtain an increased effect from the weight of the float and constructed in such manner as to slightly tip on the valve seat by a sliding rotary motion, thereby relieving the pressure so that the lever arm may then drop and carry the valve away from the valve seat. In order to permit fuel to feed from the secondary tank by gravity it is necessary that this tank be vented to atmosphere and the venting in the present construction is accomplished by providing a plurality of relatively small independent passageways which extend between the primary tank and the wall of the secondary tank upwardly to vent openings near the top of the secondary tank. One way of ohtaining these passageways comprises verti cally corrugating the side wall of the primary tank with the maximum diameter of the primary tank comprising substantially the internal diameter of the secondary tank so that when the tanks are telescoped the crests of the corrugations arc in contact with the inner wall of the secondary tank. Preferably the secondary tank adjacent. the upper portion thereof is provided with a bead, in which bead the vent openings are located. This construction not only provides a plurality of independent vent passageways, but likewise provides guiding ribs which maintain the float in the primary tank spaced apart from the side wall of the tank thereby providing` ample space between the fioat and the wall of the primary tank to permit the incoming` gasoline or other liquid fuel to feed below the float without striking the float from side to side as ordinarily happens in the constructions common in the art. In the present embodiment the primary tank and the secondary tank are sheet metal constructions preferably drawn into cup shape, with the secondary tank provided with screw threads adjacent the upper end thereof and adapted to cooperate with a die cast top whereby rotation of the top causes the screw threaded engagement thereof with the secondary tank to securely lock all of the parts in assembled relation,

Referring now to the drawings for a more detailed description of the construction. the storage or secondary tank 1 is provided with a suitable outlet connection which leads to the carburetor or other fuel feed device (not shown) for a hydr-ocarlnm engine as is common in the art. The secondary tank 1 preferably is provided with a bead 4 in which are arranged vent openings 5 and preferably the wall above the bead t is provided with screw threads 6 while the edge of the tank may be finished in any desired manner such as by providing a common folded or wire edge construction 7. The primary tank 8 preferably is provided at its upper end with a flange 9 adapted to set on the wire edge 7 of the storage tank 1. Preferably both tanks are drawn metal constructions and preferably the ordinary side wall of the primary tank 8 is provided with corrugations 10 extending lengthwise of the wall and terminating adjacent the bottoni wall 11. The bottom wall 11 carries an outlet valve 12 which preferably is provided with a relatively large outlet passageway 1i; closed by a cap valve 15 which preferably is mounted on a weighted lever 16 that is adapted to strike a stop 17 on the lever bracket 18 when the cap valve drops to open position7 as indicated in dotted lines, Figure 1, when the primary tank is discharging gasoline into the secondary tank. lt is particularly desirable that the primary tank shall discharge quickly and the large weighted cap valve construction has been found both satisfactory and etlicient for this purpose.

The cover cap 10 may be fori'ned in di lferent ways and of different materials. and preferably comprises a die casting provided with a depending skirt 2() which is screw threaded onV the interior thereof to engage screw threads on the secondary tank. Pret'- erably a gasket 21 of any suitable inat ."al is arranged in a groove adjacent the ir!` and over the flange 9 on the primary tank so that a hermetic joint is formed when a cover cap 19 is tightly set in position. The top portion of the cover cap 19 preferably is crowned as at Q2 and a constantlyr open vent 2lis provided in the center of the Crown. An inlet passageway member is lll() lll? lili) provided on one side of the crown and pret'- erably 4terminates in a spout or nozzle 2G adapted to direct incominggasoline-against the side wall of the primary tankS. This inlet member is adapted to 4be connected by suitable conduit 27 tof the main storage tank (not shown) of an automobileor the llike as is common in the art. "l`he cover -cap l@` preferably, on the side oppositeytothe inlet 1nemb`er,"is provided with a connection adapted to be connected by' means vot. a suitableconduit'29 ito `a source of suction, Aior example, the manifold ot `a yhydrocarbon engine (not shown) as is commonin 4the art.

Preferably lthe connection 28 is provided with a passageway BO'which leads to a valve seat 3l. A bracket arm B2 may be integ 'al with `the `cover cap and preferably, depends adjacent the valve seatin such manner as to comprise the fulcrum for a valve operating compound lever. This valve operating "lever may be formed ot two sections 34C and 35. The sect-ion Seis pivoted` to the bracket arm 32 and carries at its forward end a stop S6. rlhe section is pivoted tothe section 3,4 and carries the disk valve 37. VVh-en the valve is in position against the valve sea-t 31 the stop 36 extends over the section. The outer end. ot the compound lever is provided with an opening SSthrough which the stem 39 ot the float 40 extends. {Simplicity of construction is ot great importance, as previously stated,.in this art,` and also reliability and steadiness ot construe tion is iimperative. Various types oit soldered and screw threadedendson float stems were tried with varying degrees ot `satisfaction, but it was Jfound kthat screw threaded, welded or soldered connections were diiiicult to make in the limited spacev and were expensive as well as being unsatisfactory be cause of the liability ofbecomingloosened or broken. The problem was completely solved when it was discovered that a simple hook ll on the end of the stem '39 couldlbe used providing the tloatwas retained within the primary tank in such manner as to prevent the hook 'from being disengaged. Preterably the stemf) is of sufficient length vto cause the hook to strike the crowned portion 22 oi the cover cap 19 when `the primary tank {ills with gasoline slightly above a predetermined level. In orderto preserve the disk valve 3T from injury and at the same time insure the closing thereotl when the l'ioat raises, a light coiled spring 42 surrounds the lowerend ofthe stem 89 and sets upon the upper part ot the float 40. rlhis spring is adapted to litt-the disk valve lever as will later be explained. The float preferably is of a lightmaterial such as cork which has been properly/'treated to prevent the same :trom becoming soaked and losing its buoyancy. The luse oi this material is possible in the present device because of the fact that the construction of the suction con trol valve is-'suchthat a light weight maybe utilized to cause thevalve to operate.

Assuming the parts to have just reached the position shown in Figure l due to the primary tank `gradually iilling with gasoline. The valve 37 has just closed to cut oil the-suctionand air under atmospheric pres sure comes in the vent 24 to overcome the partial vacuum i-n the primary tank. The

Vweight et l'uel in the primary tank will open the cap valve l5 which pern'iits the tuel'in theprimary tank Sto quickly flow'into the storage or secondary tank l. This `causes the float 4U to move downwardly with the sides-of thefloat being guided by the-corrugations 10. During thistime the stemQ passes througlrthe opening l38 without eitecting{tlie suction valvelbecause the opening 3S is `relatively large andthe float is suiiiciently controlled or guided `as speciiied so thatany contact which the stem may make with the side walls ot the Vopening 39 is very slight `and not sufiicie-nt to disturb the valve on seat of the suction dine. As the gasoline lowsinto the secondarytaiik the float continues to Ydescend untilthehook ll strikes the end of section 35 of the compound lever.

lthe 'further downward movement'of the hook causes the section 35 to rotate slightlyon the section 34 ot the compound lever and this imparts a rotating sliding njiovemeut tothe disk 37 on-the valve seat 31 as'isillustrated in Figure t. lhenthis occurs the side of the disk adjacent the bracket arm 32 acts -as a fulcrum point which is very near to the pivot between sections Bat and 35. This provides the relatively great leverage `which separates the opposite side of the disk slightly from the valve seat 31, therebyper mitting `air to rushin over the diskto break the holding etlect on the valve andthen the further downward movement o'll the float easily pulls the disk entirely away 'trom the valve seat 3l and parts assume the position shown in Figure 5 with the suction line wide open. Thisimmediately causes a partial vacuum to be formed in the primary tank 8 whiclrclo-ses the cap valve 15 `and draws gasoline or the like through tubing 27 to the inlet member 25. The spout directs the low of liquid fuel against the side wall ol the primary tank 8 and this luel descends through the corrugated passageways past the llc-at Ll() into the lower portion of the primary tank. rftsthe primary tank iills with liquid fuel the i'loat Ll0 rises until, the spring l2 encounters the lever arm 35 at which time the arm is raised into contact with the. stop 36 andithe disk valve 37 is gradually raised toward the valve seat 31. As the disk valve approaches the valve -seat suction through the passageway 8O quickly draws the disk into contact with the valve seat and in view of vthe Jtact that the disk is mounted on the compound lever the parts are so constructed that the disk automatically seats itself in position to completely shut olf suction. In view of the relatively large area of the disk valve the pressure holding the disk on the seat is relatively great and therefore the valve disk 37 is securely held in position under low suction conditions.

IiIaving thus described my invention, what I claim is:

l. In a vacuum fuel feed system, the combination of a vacuum tank, a suction conduit leading to said vacuum tank, a valve seaton the end of said conduit, a disc valve adapted to be held against said seat by atmospheric pressure when a partial vacuun'i exists in said conduit, a lever for operating said valve, and a light weight float having a free movement within predetermined limits and being adapted to operate said lever to rock said disc on the valve seat when the float lowers beyond the said limits and to cause said disc to drop away from the valve seat to open the suction conduit.

2. In a vacuum fuel feed system, the combination of a vacuum tank, a suction conduit leading to said vacuum tank, a valve seat on the end of said conduit, a valve adapted to be held against said seat by atmospheric pressure when a partial vacuum exists in said conduit, a lever for operating said valve, and a float having a free movement within predetermined limits and being adapted to operate said lever when the float lowers beyond the said limits.

3. In a vacuum fuel system, the combination of a constantly open vented vacuum tank, a suction conduit leading to said vacuum tank, a valve seat provided on the end of said conduit, a valve adapted to be held against said seat by atmospheric pressure, a compound lever to rock said valve on said seat and to cause said valve to fall away from said seat, and a float adapted to operate said compound lever.

at. In vacuum fuel system, the combination of a vacuum tank, a suction conduit leading to said vacuum tank, a valve seat provided on the end of said conduit, a valve adapted to be held against said seat by atmospheric pressure, a compound lever for operating said valve, and a float adapted to operate said compound lever.

In a vacuum fuel feed sy, em, the combination of a primary tank, a suction conduit leading to said mimary tank and having a valve seat thereon, a control valve for said conduit, and means for tilting the valve to introduce air into said conduit and back of the valve before the valve leaves the valve seat.

G. In a vacuum fuel feed system, the combination of a primary tank, a suction conduit leading to said primary tank and having a valve seat thereon, a control valve for said conduit, and means for tilting the valve to introduce air into said conduit and back of the valve while a portion of the valve is in contact with the valve seat.

7. In a vacuum fuel feed system, the combination of a primary tank, a suction conduit leading` to said primary tank and having a valve seat thereon, a control valve for said conduit, and means to introduce air into said conduit while a portion of the valve is in contact with the valve sea-t.

8. A vacuum fuel feed system comprising a primary tank, a suction conduit leading to said primary tank, a valve adapted to close said conduit, said valve having a relatively large area whereby atn'lospheric pressure exerts a relatively heavy force to seat said valve against said valve seat, and float controlled lever operating means for gradually ren'ioving one side of said valve from said valve seat before the valve completely leaves the said seat.

9. A vacuum fuel feed system comprising a primary tank, a suction conduitleading te said primary tank, a valve adapted to close said conduit, said valve having a relatively large area whereby atmospheric pressure exerts a relatively heavy force to seat said valve against said valve seat, and lever operating means for gradually removing said valve from said valve seat.

l0. In a vacuum feed fuel system, the combination of a vacuum tank adapted to be connected with a source of liquid fuel supply, a suction conduit leading to said vacuum tank, said vacuum tank being at all times vented te atmosphere, a valve seat on the end of said passageway, a pivoted lever, a valve pivoted on said pivoted lever, and fioat controlled means adapted to tilt said valve upon said valve seat when said float descends to a predetermined level.

l1. A vacuum fuel feed systen'i comprising a vacuum tank, a liquid fuel inlet, a float having vertical movement in said vacuum tank, and means to maintain said float in contact with a portion and out of contact with other portions of the side wall of said tank to permit the liquid fuel to feed into said tank without pouring down upon said float.

l2. A vacuum'fuel feed system comprising a vacuum tank, a, tio-at having vertical movementin said vacuum tank, and vertically extending guide members for contacting with the side of said float and to maiutain the same in contact with a portierl and out of contact with another portion of the side wall of said tank.

13. In a vacuum fuel feed system, a substantially cylindrical storage tank in combination with a vacuum tank shorter than the storage tank and having an exterior diameter substantially equal to the internal diamllt) lill) eter of said storage tank and 'telescoped :within said storage tank, and a passageway leading `into the storage tank and formed by a portion of the side wall of said storage tank and a portion of the side wall of said vacuum tank, said passageway leading to a vent for said storage tank.

llt. In a vacuum fuel feed system, a substantially cylindrical storage tank in combination with a vacuum tank having an eXterior diameter substantially equal to the intei-nal diameter of said storage tank and teleseoped within said storage tank, and a passageway formed by a portion of the side wall of said sto-rage tank and a portion of the side wall of said `vacuum tank.

l5. ln a vacuum feed fuel system, the combination of a relatively long substantially cylindrical storage tank, a relatively short sul'istantially cylindrical vacuum tank whose external diameter is substantially equal to the internal diameter of said storage tank and with the vacuum tank telescoped within the storage tank and a passageway into the storage tank formed by a groove in the side wall of one of said tanks, said passageway leading` to a vent in the storage tank.

1G. In a vacuum feed fuel system, the combination of a substantially cylindrical storage tank, a substantially cylindrical vacuum tank whose external diameter is substantially equal to the internal diameter of said storage tank and with the vacuum tank telescoped within the storage tank, and a passageway formed by a groove in the side wall of one of the said tanks.

17. In a vacuum feed fuel system, the combination of a storage tank, a vacuum tank having external cross-sectional dimensions substantially equal to the internal Cross-seetional dimensions of the storage tank and with the vacuum tank telescoped within the storage tank, and a plurality of vertical passageways extending upwardly between said vacuum tank and said storage tank.

1,5%. lfn a vacuum feed fuel system, the oombnation of a substantially cylindrical slorage tank, a substantially cylindrical vacuum tank having a diameter substantially equal to the internal diameter of the storage tank and with the vacuum tank telescoped within the storage tank, and a plurality of vertical passageways extending upwardlyl between said vacuum tank and said storage tank.

19. A vacuum feed fuel system comprising a tank having a bead adj aeent the upper end thereof, said bead being provided with vent openings, a vacuum tank having an external cross-sectional dimension and shape substantially equal to the internal cross-sectional dimension and shape of said storage tank, and

a plurality of vertically extending grooves in the wall of said vacuum tank to provide passageways leading from said storage tank to said bead.

20. A vacuum feed fuel system comprising a substantially cylindrical tank having a bead adjacent the upper end thereof, said bead being provided with vent openings, a vacuum tank having an external diameter substantially equal to the internal diameter of said storage tank, and a plurality of vertically extending grooves in the wall of said vacuum tank to provide passageways leading from said storage tank to said bead.

2l. In a fuel feed system, the combina-tion of a storage tank, a vacuum tank, a cover member for said vacuum tank, a float within said vacuum tank, guiding means for maintaining said fioat separated from a portion of the walls of said vacuum tank to provide passagewaysleading around said float, a fuel conduit adapted to be connected to a source of fuel supply, and means to dire-et fuel from said conduit against the side wall of said vacuum tank and into the passageways between said side wall and said float.

22. A vacuum fuel feed system comprising a vacuum tank, a suction passageway leading to said vacuum tank, a valve seat on said passageway, a valve adapted to tit said seat, a float within said vacuum tank, a stop for limit-ing the upward movement of said fioat independently of said spring, and a spring carried by said float and being adapted to gently seat said valve before said stop limits the upward movement of said float.

23. A vacuum fuel feed system comprising a vacuum tank, a suction passageway leading to said vacuum tank, a valve seat on said passageway, a valve adapted to fit said seat, a float within said vacuum tank and having a free movement within predetermined limits, a stop for limiting the upward movement of said float independently of the pressure on the valve, and means adapted to seat said valve before said stop limits the upward moven'ient of said fioat.

2d. A vacuum fuel feed system comprising a vacuum tank, a vertical suction passageway leading to said vacuum tank, a substantially horizontal valve seat on said passageway, a valve adapted to cooperate with said valve seat, a supporting member Carrying said valve and adapted to guide the movement thereof, a light float for operating the valve, a float stem member, a connection between said float stem member and said supporting member comprising an opening in one. member and a hook formed by bending the end of the other member.

ENEA BOSSI. 

